Ironwood Electronics recently introduced a new BGA socket addressing high performance requirements for femtocell SoCs - CBT-BGA-6015. The contactor is a stamped spring pin with 19 gram actuation force per ball and cycle life of 500,000 insertions. Low force eliminates ball sticking issues due to temperature testing. The self inductance of the contactor is 0.93 nH, insertion loss < 1 dB at 23.2 GHz and contact resistance is <16mOhms.

The current capacity of each contactor is 8 amps at 80C temperature rise. Socket temperature range is -55C to +180C. Socket also features a floating guide for precise ball to pin alignment. The specific configuration of the package to be tested in the CBT-BGA-6015 is a BGA, 52.5x52.5mm, 1mm pitch, 2097 position, 51x51 ball array. The socket is mounted using supplied hardware on the target PCB with no soldering, and uses smallest footprint for nearby passive components.

To use, place the BGA device into the socket base and close the socket lid assembly on to the base using the latch. This socket utilizes compression screw integrated with compression plate mechanism for precise actuation of varying chip thickness. This socket can be used for hand test and temperature characterization as well as debugging application in femtocell development. A femtocell is a small cellular base station that extends coverage to remote/unavailable location.

Pricing for the CBT-BGA-6015 is $2498 at qty 1 with reduced pricing available depending on quantity required.